A powerful typhoon that ravaged the Philippines, Taiwan, and China last month, causing widespread destruction and over 100 fatalities, was significantly intensified by climate change, according to scientists in a report released on Thursday.
Typhoon Gaemi, which struck East Asia starting July 22, brought more than 300mm (11.81 inches) of rain to Manila in a single day and winds reaching 145 mph (232 kph). The storm triggered mudslides in China’s Hunan province and caused maritime disasters, including the sinking of an oil tanker near the Philippines and a cargo ship off Taiwan’s coast.
Researchers from World Weather Attribution, a group analyzing the link between climate change and extreme weather events, found that Typhoon Gaemi’s severity was exacerbated by warmer sea temperatures. They noted that the typhoon’s winds were approximately 9 mph stronger, and its rainfall was up to 14% heavier due to climate-induced ocean warming.
Nadia Bloemendaal, a researcher at the Royal Netherlands Meteorological Institute, explained during a briefing that rising global temperatures are heating ocean waters, providing more energy for tropical storms and increasing their intensity. Clair Barnes, a research associate at London’s Grantham Institute, added that typhoons are now 30% more likely to occur compared to the pre-industrial era and warned that their frequency and intensity will continue to rise if global temperatures increase by 2 degrees Celsius (3.6 Fahrenheit).
Maja Vahlberg, a climate risk consultant with the Red Cross Red Crescent Climate Centre, emphasized that East Asia’s infrastructure and emergency systems are being severely tested by these increasingly extreme weather events, stating, “Our best efforts are being pushed to their limits.”
